The Accretionary Wedge #1: Why I Study Geology

Welcome to the 1st edition of the geology blog carnival The Accretionary Wedge.

For this inaugural edition we decided that it might be interesting for all of us to write a bit about why we became geologists/geophysicists.

As the host I get to compile (and read) all the submissions as they come in. I was so preoccupied (in a good way) by all these great essays that my own fell through the cracks resulting in a later publishing time than I originally planned! Sorry about that.

I definitely urge everyone to read all of these…it is a great collection of stories. And there is definitely a common theme regarding how many of us ended up where we are. It seems geology is not often a first-choice when students are choosing majors. It might be interesting to delve into why this is in future editions.

A desire to solve pollution and water quality problems at a young age motivates Kim to study environmental chemistry. However, something happened her very first semester at college: she took a geology class because chemistry wasn’t offered until the next term.

But the rocks kept calling. Not just any rocks. Rocks that had been through a lot and had stories to tell.

Thermochronic wanted to be an environmental biologist. However, something happened when he had to fulfill a requirement for the major: he took a geology class and went to the field. The realization that geology incorporated aspects of chemistry, biology, physics, statistics, etc. soon followed. Plus, any field that is both beard and flannel friendly has to be good.

If I am stuck at a boring party with no one interesting to talk to, I can entertain myself for hours with a stone fireplace.

Chris started university with aspirations of becoming a physicist. To fill out some requirements he thought that gaining some knowledge about earthquakes, volcanoes, and the like would be cool, so he took a geology class. And then…well, you probably see what’s going on by now.

…the end result of your intellectual struggle is usually a story: how that mountain range was built, how that dinosaur lived, how that ice sheet has waxed and waned. I like teasing out those stories, and I like telling them

Chris (our third one of this edition) gained actual marketable skills in computer sciences and had a real honest-to-goodness job. But wait…he was bored as schist and headed back to school. Mineralogy and petrology skills are now helping him unlock the secrets of the oldest solid materials in the solar system. (Oh, and by the way, Chris is planning on doing some geology podclasts in the future…you read that right…podclasts).

Geology is where the natural sciences meet time. Physics, chemistry and biology, wrapped up in a enormous temporal package spanning billions of years.

As a child, Miguel picked up and admired rocks from the beaches of his hometown in Peru. He didn’t really think that picking up rocks could lead to a career in science. He thought about journalism, computers, information science, and related fields as a career. Circumstances led him to take a geology class and he’s made the most of it.

Thinking about it, I’m actually doing, one way or another, all the things I wanted: working with computers, being a journalist and more recently becoming a geologist.

p.s. Miguel’s post is in English at the bottom…but, give the Spanish version a try

In our final post, Mel shares her circuitous journey starting at wanting to be a paleontologist (at the age of 7), ending up studying biochemistry as an undergrad, realizing that wasn’t the right path, and then ending up in a graduate program studying sedimentary geology.

As a child, we had a long dirt driveway with lots of different kinds of rocks. So on my way to school or waiting at the bus stop at the top of my driveway, I remember looking at them.

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UPDATE! Here is a post from a new geo-blogger…better late than never!! Check it out.

Another story about discovering the rewards and importance of geoscience.

These people were using science to solve problems faced by people in my state every day. They were using every branch of science I learned in school, but applying it toward something real. And they were educating others.

UPDATE! UPDATE!! UPDATE!!!

Better late than never! Ron was out in the field when this post was first published a few weeks ago. Be sure to check out his entry.

Although I outgrew the rock collecting phase as a kid, I continued to develop a strong affinity for nature and travel. Family vacations eventually took me to many of America’s National Parks as well as many state parks and other natural attractions – many with interesting geologic origins.

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This entry was posted on September 4, 2007 at 2:01 am and is filed under personal stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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One Response to “The Accretionary Wedge #1: Why I Study Geology”

I floated in to the geology program to fulfill a science requirement. I liked it, took more and more classes, realized it meshed with my personality and violia! before I knew it I had 40-g’s in debt two degrees (BA/MS) a job using my skills and a cool web handle.